LAHORE: The Punjab chapter of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday claimed to have successfully observed shutter-down strike in the major markets as the party’s media cell continued sharing pictures and videos of “closed markets” from across the province.
However, local sources say that the party’s protest call failed to move its workers in most of the big cities, while at some places the business activities remained only partially suspended.
While February 8 fell on Sunday, when all major markets usually remain closed, the Lahorites kept flying kites on the last day of the three-day Basant festival.
The Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan’s (TTAP) and the PTI’s political committee had given a call for “silent agitation” on the second anniversary of the party’s “stolen mandate” on February 8. It is observed that Sunday traffic was plying on roads as usual, particularly in Lahore.
Party’s media cell claims a province-wide successful strike
As planned, the PTI workers brought out torch-bearing rallies in the evening and chanted slogans demanding release of the founder, Imran Khan, besides shouting slogans like “Fake government na-manzoor”, “Mandate chori na-manzoor.” The PTI workers, in some rallies, were also carrying party flags.
The PTI’s media cell also shared videos of torch-bearing rallies from different parts of the province.
In Lahore, PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja led a torch-bearing rally from the Lahore High Court to the GPO Chowk and asserted that people had raised their voice against the “theft of their mandate” on Feb 8, 2024.
He said the party would continue its struggle for Imran Khan’s release from jail, restoration of democracy and transparent elections. The rally was participated in by party leaders, workers, lawyers and people from different walks of life.
The PTI leadership, meanwhile, continued expressing their strong resentment over, what it called Punjab police’s highhandedness, alleging continuous raids on party workers’ residences and businesses.
The party leadership says the people of Pakistan had overwhelmingly voted for Imran Khan and his candidates in the Feb 8, 2024 general elections. The leaders said the “incumbent fake Form-47 government” had stolen people’s mandate and that the party founder Imran Khan was languishing in jail for the future of younger generation.
OKARA: Dozens of PTI activists carrying flexes and placards, led by Mehr Abdul Jabbar, brother of Mehr Abdus Sattar, took out a protest rally from 4/4 L village to the GT Road.
The protesters, chanting slogans against the government, demanded release of the party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.They later dispersed peacefully.
Meanwhile, the PTI workers, led by the party’s provincial assembly ticket-holder from the last election, Chaudhry Saleem Sadiq, also distributed pamphlets against the government in Dipalpur and Basirpur towns.
The district police had nabbed 40 PTI workers three days back, who were detained at various police stations across the district. The police remained alert to prevent any political activity by the party workers.
SARGODHA: A partial shutter down was observed in Sargodha city on the PTI’s call.
Many traders decided to open their shops and continued their business activities as per their routine.
According to sources, traders’ organisations in Sargodha city have not responded to the PTI’s call and opened all the bazaars and markets in the city as usual, while business activities in the surrounding areas and towns of the district also continued as usual.
Sources says that PTI’s local leadership failed to motivate shopkeepers to observe the strike, while the administration influenced the traders into declining the party’s protest call.
TOBA TEK SINGH: The PTI’s shutter-down and wheel-jam strike call largely failed to move people in Faisalabad division.
The traders and shopkeepers in all districts of Faisalabad do not observe Sunday as weekly holiday, as they keep their businesses shut on Fridays. So, the business activities went on as per routine in all eight bazaars around the clock tower in Faisalabad and towns in all the four districts.
The grain markets and fruit and vegetable markets also remained open in the division.
The PTI parliamentarians and office-bearers had already gone underground to save avoid arrests.
GUJRAT: In Gujrat district too, the PTI’s call for a shutter down and wheel jam was completely ignored by people.
The markets and other commercial areas remained operational as per the routine in the major urban centres, including Gujrat, Lalamusa, Kharian, Jalalpur Jattan, Dinga, Sara-i-Alamgir and Kunjah.
The traffic flow on the city roads and the highways also remained smooth without any hindrance created by the party workers.
However, strict security measures had been in place at the main intersections, squares and markets, where contingent of police remained deployed throughout the day.
No gathering, rally or procession by the local PTI workers was reported in any part of the district.
Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2026